While Brigand Hill and the local area offer many diversions (Friday night's Seafood Friday in Anse La Raye is not to be missed), guests can sample St. Lucia's many other nearby delights.

Just 10 minutes away is the horseshoe-shaped Anse Cochon beach which features Ti Kaye's great beachfront bar and restaurant. This magnificent beach also offers wonderful snorkeling and an on-site dive shop serves scuba fans.

Another approach is to have our staff arrange for a boat to take you down the coast, enabling you to sample many different beaches and snorkeling spots (some equipment is provided for Brigand Hill guests, but you should bring your own masks ). Be sure to stop at Anse Chastenet to check out their superb undersea life and bar-restaurant. (Only the brave DRIVE into Anse Chastenet).

Continue to Soufriere and the marine park between the Pitons at Sugar Beach. This would be a good time to visit Soufriere's "Sulfur Springs" "drive-in" volcano, gardens and mineral baths. Imagine bathing in the same tubs as Napoleon's favorite soldiers! His wife Josephine grew up in Soufriere.

A suggestion - the hotels often welcome "day guests", sometimes charging a small fee. Four worthy of consideration are nearby Ti Kaye resort (Anse Cochron beach; a superb boutique hotel, which offers great hospitality, and weekly charge priviledges to Brigand Hill guests), Le Sport (located in the North, close to the Cap Estate golf course), Ladera, on a mountaintop just south of Soufriere, and Sugar Beach, located below the Petit Piton. The first is only minutes away and offers a wide spectrum of spa treatments (but you are advised to book ahead); Ladera has an outstanding kitchen (tell Chef Orlando that you’re staying at Brigand Hill), a breath-taking view and is well worth visiting for lunch or dinner (and dallying by their pool and deck). It was to this hotel that Superman flew to pick a flower for Lois Lane, in the movie of the same name. Sugar Beach is the handiwork of the late Lord Glencomer (Colin Tennant), intimate of Princess Margaret and developer of Mustique earlier in his career.

Diving

St. Lucia offers superb diving with fully equipped dive facilities at several locations, including nearby Ti Kaye resort. Call ahead to Island Divers, who take great care of Brigand Hill's guests. They also offer a safe, one-on-one "Discover Scuba" package for first-timers. If you plan on diving, bring your valid NAUI/PADI card, but plan to rent tanks on island at Ti Kaye (Anse Cochon), Oasis Marigot or Anse Chastenet. Leave your spear fishing gear at home, though; St. Lucia prohibits such fishing (but encourages the other, deep sea kind, and many charters are available).

Whale and Dolphin Watching

Whale and dolphin watching is available via boats operating out of the Rodney Bay and Soufriere areas.

Game Fishing

Several charter operators are located in the Rodney Bay area. We favor Hackshaw's, which is conveniently located in the Vigie Bay marina next door to the Coal Pot Restaurant. Tell the owner, Chris Hackshaw, that you're staying at Brigand Hill for a preferred rate. In addition to large Billfish, we usually catch Mahi-Mahi and Wahoo, and we almost always see Dolphin frolicking by the boat.

Car Rental

All the major car rental companies are represented on the island. Rates are relatively high, so we favor Sean Jules at Cosmopolitan Tours & Car Rentals. He gives Brigand Hill guests a special rate. You can call ahead to 758-458-4538 or 758-721-9237. They will deliver the vehicle to the villa.

Savoring St. Lucia's Natural Wonders

The St. Lucian government has worked hard to make the island's magnificent features easily accessible to visitors while, at the same time, creating employment opportunities for its citizens.

14 nature trails (the most on any island in the Caribbean) varying in difficulty and length dot the island. Through the Forestry Department's hard-won success in restoring the endangered St. Lucian parrot one can see parrots on many of the trails. Visitors can now visit the Maria islands off St Lucia's south shore, home of two creatures--the whiptailed lizard and Maria Island snake (the rarest in the world with only about 100 in existence)--which only live on this 26-acre windswept island.

Piton Climb

St Lucia's two most prominent landmarks are the Pitons just south of Soufriere. Contrary to popular wisdom, these are not "dead" volcanoes; in fact, they are volcanic cones and both can be climbed. The Petite Piton has a forbidding reputation and some hikers have fallen off (a fatal miscue). The larger Gros Piton is safer, though still a test on one's fitness (plan on a drink at Ladera and a nap afterward). The Government requires that each party take a guide on the climb (a good idea; we've gotten lost on the descent) for a small fee. The view from the top is breathtaking.

Sailing

Yacht charters by the day or week, bare boat or with crew are readily available at Moorings in nearby Marigot Bay. Chateau Mygo at Marigot offers an excellent day sail, including lunch, which many guests call the highlight of their stay. This is a great way to see the beauty of St. Lucia's coastline or some of the nearby islands like Martinique. Local ferry companies offer a one-day trip to/from and bus tour of Martinique and other Islands.

Turtle Watching

Another initiative that was started 25 years ago by the St. Lucia Naturalists Society and the Fisheries Department is safeguarding the leatherback turtles when they come ashore in the months of March through July to lay their eggs. Magnificent creatures as big as a Volkswagen Beetle, some turtles have ventured as far as Australia before returning to St. Lucia to deposit their eggs. The Turtle Watch Program has succeeded in protecting the nesting turtles from human predation, initially through all-night vigils and now by enlisting the former predators as allies. Two years ago 14 young people from the community were trained to conduct and monitor the turtles and they now manage the beach site, charging tourists a modest fee to observe the leatherbacks! This is considered by many as the model for community-based conservation projects in the Caribbean. Brigand Hill's staff can arrange such a turtle watch, sometimes accompanied by Jim Sparks (an American living here for over three decades), former chairman of the St. Lucia National Trust and the individual behind this success.

Golf

The island has three golf courses, the Cap Estate Country Club, a 9-hole layout at Sandals, and a Jack Nicklaus signature course. All are open to the public and rent shoes and clubs. Tee times are seldom necessary.

The best windsurfing in the world can be had at St. Lucia's southern end. Equipment rentals and instructions are readily available.

"All seven of us (especially, two-year-old Estalla) had a wonderful family vacation--sun, beach, pool, even the rain made each day memorable. wonderful cuisine…very helpful and supportive staff. Thank you for sharing your home with us."--The Stern Family, 2013